


Warm Enough

by pipistrelle



Series: Glimmadora Week 2020 2.0 [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora Blames Herself For Everything As Usual, Episode Tag, Episode: s02e05 White Out, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Glimmadora Week 2020, Glimmer Wants To Help, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Loathing, like really extremely fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25836259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipistrelle/pseuds/pipistrelle
Summary: After-effects of She-Ra's rampage in the Northern Reach.For the Glimmadora Week prompt "Fluff/Angst" (though could just as well fit into "Injuries/Battles")!
Relationships: Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: Glimmadora Week 2020 2.0 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880776
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Warm Enough

She-Ra doesn't feel cold, she's warmed by the magic of Grayskull, so Adora didn't bother packing the heavy coat Glimmer found for her, or the pair of earmuffs Bow made her (white with a gold starburst). She didn’t even bring a scarf. She shouldn’t have needed any of that, they were _supposed_ to be on a stealthy strike mission, in and out as quick as possible -- although of course their plans never go to plan, she should have seen that coming. 

She should have seen a lot of things coming. She should have realized that Entrapta still had the First Ones virus disc, and that if Entrapta had it that meant Catra had it. She could have warned her friends. She should have been prepared for this. 

Instead she’s huddled against the prow of the Dragon’s Daughter V, cold and miserable and useless, trying to keep out of the wind. Bow won't let her use the sword again until he's checked that the First Ones murder-virus is completely gone, which is probably a good idea. Even if it does mean Adora's left to face the return journey across the frigid northern seas with nothing but her ripped red jacket and her puny human body. 

Well, that's not entirely true. Glimmer's weighed her down with every spare blanket and sail she could find, and insisted on giving Adora her earmuffs. Adora won't freeze to death. But she does really wish she'd brought a scarf. 

Her head is still a little fuzzy. She doesn't remember that from Dryl; but she wasn’t as familiar with She-Ra’s power then, either. Is this the same virus, or has it mutated, maybe into something stronger? Do the effects linger, or increase over time? Is the virus code still lying dormant in her, somehow? Bow's right not to let her use the sword, at least until they have more answers. She can't risk letting She-Ra go on a rampage like that again. 

Glimmer staggers across the rolling deck with another armful of sailcloth and kneels to tuck it into Adora's expanding nest. "There we go, that's all I could find -- Adora? Are you warm enough?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Adora lies. The old sails are musty with salt and tar, sturdy but thin, and they blunt the wind's frigid claws but can’t keep it out completely. Adora burrows a little deeper into them, hoping Glimmer won’t see her shivering. "It's only a couple hours back to warmer weather, right? I'll be okay." 

She’s not very convincing. Glimmer scowls. "This isn't good enough! Sea Hawk's set a lot of boats on fire, he must know a way to start a fire _on_ a boat. Without completely burning it. Right?" She pats Adora’s shoulder, but Adora can’t feel it through Glimmer’s glove and the layers of tarp and her own numb dejection. "Just hang in there, we'll -- ah. We'll figure something out."

The wince as she stands, the hitch in her breath, catches Adora's attention. "Are you okay?"

Glimmer takes two hasty steps back. "I'm fine! Nothing to worry about. You just try to stay warm, okay?"

"No, wait a second." Adora grabs Glimmer's glove, keeping her from fleeing down the deck. Even the tug of her grip makes Glimmer flinch. "You were limping on our way back. Are you hurt?"

"No! Absolutely not. I'm definitely…completely fine." She looks at her hand in Adora’s nervously, like she’s thinking of pulling away, but doesn’t.

Adora stands, letting the sails fall in a heap at her feet. Sick rage helps warm her up a little -- more than the sailcloth did, anyway. "Was it Catra?"

"Yes!" Glimmer nearly beams with relief. "Yeah, Catra hit me! While we were fighting over the disc! And I landed a little weird, it's totally nothing, just a bruise! Definitely not worth you freezing to death, _please_ sit down, Adora --"

Adora lets Glimmer push her back down and wrap the sails around her again, but now that she's watching she sees the certain ways Glimmer can't move without wincing, as much as she tries to hide it. Rage at Catra is starting to fade, and in its place is a sinking suspicion. "If it happened in the fight with Catra, why didn't you say something?"

"That's like the least important thing going on right now. Honestly --"

"It's important. It's very important." She knows the truth already, there's only one reason Glimmer would be acting like this, and her memories of the fight on the bridge are just a boiling blankness shot through with vivid streaks of rage. "Was it me? Did I hurt you?"

Glimmer’s hesitation is all the answer she needs. Adora lets her head fall, hides her face in her arms. The last thing she needs or deserves is Glimmer’s pity, when Glimmer was the one who got hit with all the force of She-Ra and thrown into a bug-infested ice cavern. "Glimmer, I'm so sorry. If I hadn't let Catra get me with that disc --"

"Adora! Stop it." Glimmer drops to her knees and throws her arms around Adora. Adora can feel the way she shifts and tenses, clearly in pain, but she doesn’t loosen her grip. "It wasn't your fault. I _know_ you'd never hurt me. You weren't yourself. And I wasn't even lying! Fighting with Catra did make it a lot worse. All you gave me was a bruise, I swear."

The wind is ruffling Glimmer’s hair and the fur-lined collar of her coat. Adora pulls the sails up around them both. "If it was a bruise before, what is it now?"

"Maaaybe a cracked rib? It's okay!" Glimmer sees the panicked guilt start to rear its head again and clamps both hands firmly on Adora’s shoulders, keeping her from spiraling. "Don’t freak out. It's not like this is the first time this has happened! I used to get hurt doing dumb stuff all the time before we met you -- ask Bow about the time I tried to fight a moosebeetle when we were eight. And immortal Princess powers help. This is nothing, it'll heal."

Tears sting in the frigid cold. Adora wipes them away, afraid they'll freeze. She thought she knew what the worst-case scenario looked like, back at the fortress; that Catra would make her watch helplessly while her friends got hurt. She never imagined she'd be the one to hurt them. To hurt _Glimmer_. "Without the sword I can't even try to heal you. I shouldn’t have come on this mission, I’ve been worse than useless. I’ve been a liability."

"Adora. You'll have the sword back in a couple hours -- tomorrow, tops. I'll be fine until then. And you're not a _liability,_ I’m glad you’re here.” She shifts in closer again, so close that even the howling wind can’t drown her words. “I’m _always_ glad you’re here."

Adora still sometimes has trouble believing her when she says things like that, but it’s harder to feel the same lash of self-loathing with Glimmer in her arms. It’s harder to think of anything at all, or to feel anything except the warmth and softness of her, solid and reassuring. For this moment at least, Glimmer is more real and more important than all Adora’s panicked what-ifs and predictions of doom -- real enough to shield her from the wind and from the pain of the past. 

Adora rests her forehead on Glimmer’s shoulder. “Even though I attacked you?”

“You were corrupted by a murder-virus! And anyway, I know how you can make it up to me.”

“How?”

"Well," Glimmer says, "you can keep me warm. That's good for healing, right?"

"Uh -- I guess," Adora says, but Glimmer's already crawling into the nest with her, unzipping her heavy woolen parka to spread out over them both. She wraps one arm around Adora and presses the other hand to a spot on her left side, letting out a breath through clenched teeth. Adora pulls the sails tighter around them.

For the first time since they cast off from the Reach, a little bit of warmth seeps into the hollow at the center of the sailcloth bundle, and into the pit deep in Adora’s chest. After a few minutes she realizes that she’s not shivering anymore. And Glimmer seems to be in less pain now that she can let Adora brace her instead of having to balance against the rolling swells of the ship.

"See? It's working,” Glimmer says, resting her head on Adora’s shoulder. “I feel better already."

"Yeah," Adora sighs. "Me too."


End file.
